Aurus Motors, the Russian luxury limousine manufacturer that produced the limousine gifted to North Korea by Russian President Vladimir Putin, uses many parts from South Korea.
According to a Reuters report on the 3rd, customs records showed that from 2018 to last year, Aurus imported at least $34 million worth of equipment and parts necessary for car and motorcycle assembly.
They reported that $15.5 million was imported from South Korean companies. The parts mainly included car body components, sensors, switches, and welding equipment. It was also confirmed that parts were supplied to Aurus from China, India, Turkey, and Italy.
Imports continued despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Aurus imported $5 million worth of South Korean parts and $16 million worth of parts and equipment. These imports did not violate sanctions against Russia. Aurus was only added to the list of Russian entities sanctioned by the U.S. and other countries in February of this year.
A representative of Gyeonggi Industry, a South Korean supplier of Aurus, confirmed, “We have been supplying parts to Aurus and continue to do so.” Gyeonggi Industry manufactures car parts and automation equipment and specializes in making body-related car parts.
Aurus is a company born out of a Russian state-owned Central Automobile and Motor Research Institute project to develop a domestically produced luxury car with technological cooperation from domestic and foreign companies. The Aurus Senat, a model from this company, is known as the “Russian Rolls-Royce” and is commonly known as Putin’s official car. In February, Putin gifted this model to Kim and gave him another one during his visit to Pyongyang this month.
Aurus, a brand symbolizing Russia’s automotive technology, procures many parts from foreign companies, such as South Korea, which shows the vulnerability of Russia’s automotive technology independence.
Reuters assessed that the imported components of the Aurus vehicles come from South Korea, which Kim Jong Un has labeled an enemy. Despite Russia’s vows to retaliate against Western sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine, it continues to depend on technology from the Western bloc.
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